Battle Scars
by alydhe
Summary: Harry felt more than heard someone settle down beside him on the blood soaked grass. Looking over his eyes filled with tears, Ron.' slash references HD, RHr [Early Work, Here for Archival purposes]
1. Last Stand

** Battle Scars **

Disclaimer: Don't I wish. BTW: _I Saved The World Today_ belongs to Eurythmics. 

Warnings: Angst, slash references. 

_ Monday finds you like a bomb _ _ That's been left ticking there too long _ _ You're bleeding _ _ Some days there's nothing left to learn _ _ From the point of no return _ _ You're leaving _

Harry's eyes were wide with shock and horror. It was supposed to be a happy day today, the first Hogsmead trip of the year always had been before. But Voldemort hadn't attacked at the height of the day before. 

Everyone had been shopping, laughing, and basking in the joy of life. Then a strange fog had rolled in, and all sound stopped for a moment, that's when the curses and screaming had started. The Deatheaters had been there for God only knows how long, watching them and waiting for their master to arrive. 

Their plan had apparently been to destroy Hogsmead, and consequently, most of the students old enough to fight for Hogwarts, in one large surprise attack. Then they were going to advance on the castle. 

The students and residents had managed to hold off the attack until Dumbledor and his allies arrived, having felt the battle magicks bouncing off the edge of the school wards. 

_ Hey hey I saved the world today _ _ Everybody's happy now _ _ The bad things gone away _ _ And everybody's happy now _ _ The good thing's here to stay _ _ Please let it stay _

The battle had been bloody, and gruesome. But they had won, hadn't they? Voldemort was dead, a combined attack originating from himself, Dumbledor, Snape, and McGonagall. 

But God, the price. Last he had seen Neville the boy was missing an arm. Ginny, Zabini, Seamous, Colin, Dennis, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Trelawney, Terry Boot, and many more… all dead. 

Ron and Draco are still missing, Cho is in a coma, and Harry himself couldn't feel anything, so he didn't really know how injured he was. 

What a mess. 

Stepping over the debris that was once Zonko's, Harry stumbled over to a small stream and fell to his knees. He peered down into the water and noticed his left cheek had a bloody handprint on it. That was where Ginny had touched him as she died in his arms, right after she had taken a dagger that was meant for him. 

Burn in Hell Lucius. 

_ There's a million mouths to feed _ _ And I've got everything i need _ _ I'm breathing _ _ And there's a hurting thing inside _ _ But I've got everything to hide _ _ I'm grieving _

Harry felt more than heard someone settle down beside him on the blood soaked grass. Looking over his eyes filled with tears, Ron. 

"Your alive." He choked out hoarsely. 

Ron gave him a lop-sided grin, "Yeah, and so is that bloody git of a boyfriend of yours, we were stuck in the secret passage in Honeydukes when it collapsed, took a while to get back here from Hogwarts." 

"And Draco is okay?" 

"Yeah, last I saw, Hermione was bitching him out for knocking her into a wall during the fight." 

Harry closed his eyes, fatigue and relief warring on his face. He opened them again and smiled at his beast friend slightly. 

"I'd hug you mate, but I don't think I can move." 

Ron chuckled, then grew serious. "Hey mate, you gonna be okay?" 

_ Hey hey I saved the world today _ _ Everybody's happy now _ _ The bad things gone away _ _ And everybody's happy now _ _ The good thing's here to stay _ _ Please let it stay _

Harry looked down at his hands, they were still clutching his wand in a death grip. 

"In time." Was his only answer, but Ron nodded. 

Suddenly the redhead stood up and offered his hand to his battle worn friend. "Lets go find the others, you still gotta rescue Malfoy from 'Mione." 

_ Doo doo doo doo doo the good thing _ _ Hey hey I saved the world today _ _ Everybody's happy now _ _ The bad things gone away _ _ And everybody's happy now _ _ The good thing's here to stay _ _ Please let it stay _

Harry took his hand and slowly stood up. Ron clapped a hand around his shoulder and they turned to walk back to the half-ruined village where their lovers awaited them. 

It had been a long battle, and no one walked away from it the same person they had been. But as Harry looked towards where his smiling lover and other best friend were rushing to greet them, only one thing was running through his mind. 

'We can finally be happy.' 

_ And everybody's happy now _

* * * 

Well, you like? You hate? Let me know! 


	2. Slytherin's Defense

**Battle Scars: Chapter two, Slytherin's Defense**

FF.net is being an ass, and this will be my 7th attempt to get the damn thing to show chapter two, bear with me folks, I'm ready to crack. 

Harry glared defiantly at the posse of Aurors and Ministry officials, he and the students are all congregated in the great hall, listening to the idiot minister prattle on. The war only ended 2 months ago, and already Cornelius Fudge was wreaking havoc. 

It was common knowledge that a lot of Slytherins in the past had gone dark. In fact, most of Voldemort's supporters had been ex-Slytherins. And so the minister of magic, being the bumbling idiot he is, had decided the Slytherins were far too much of a risk to allow to run amuck, and wanted them all arrested. 

And, with Dumbledor still recovering from that combined last strike in St. Mungo's, he had the advantage. 

_ Out of the ruins _

_ Out from the wreckage _

_ Can't make the same mistake this time _

_ We are the children _

_ The last generation _

_ We are the ones they left behind _

_ And I wonder when we are ever gonna change _

_ Living under the fear, till nothing else remains _

Just as Harry was about to pull his wand out to fight for his lover and peers, a voice broke through the crowd. 

"NO!" 

All heads swiveled to Collin Creevy, the short Gryffindor blushed before stalking over to the minister. 

Fudge was incredulous, "What do you mean no? You're a Gryffindor! What do you care what happens to a bunch of Slytherins?" 

"Yeah well, they may be a bunch of slimy jerks, but they are our slimy jerks and were not letting you take them!" 

The other students made sounds of agreement while the Slytherins looked as thought they were trying to decide whether or not to be offended. 

Harry was proud of them all, that last battle had formed a sort of bond between all the students, causing the house rivalries to fade to a friendly competition rather than open animosity. He was immensely glade to see that, despite their newfound hatred for conflict, they would still fight for one another. 

"You, my boy, have no say so in the matter. Those monstrosities are a threat to civilized society! Just look at them!" 

Well, the Slytherins certainly did appear to be a rough lot, half the time they were scowling, and the other half was spent sneering. The had no qualms with screwing you over if you were gullible, and they probably knew more hexes the other three houses combined, but once you got past all that they really were an...well... an interesting lot. 

_ We don't need another hero _

_ We don't need to know the way home _

_ All we want is life beyond _

_ Thunderdome _

Justin Finch-Fletchley stepped forward from his position at the Hufflepuff table. 

"We don't need you playing hero for us _Fudge_! You wanna let us know where you were during the last battle? You know, while we students fought side by side with the Slytherins against _fully trained dark wizards_ in Hogsmead?" 

Fudge looked a little stumped at that, "Me? Well...I was...er... organizing the troops! Yes, that's where I was." 

Ron snorted from his position behind Harry, "Oh really? And I could have sworn my dad said Amos Diggory was the coordinator for the counter strike." 

"Oh..well...I... That's not the point! The point is that they are all dangerous!" 

He pointed at the Slytherins. 

Draco Malfoy sneered at him, "Oh yeah... We are real dangerous to you aren't we? We probably know more about your shady dealings than you do from just what we overheard from our parents." 

The rest of the Slytherins smirked and nodded in agreement. 

_ Looking for something _

_ We can rely on _

_ There's gotta be something better out there _

_ Love and compassion _

_ Their day is coming _

_ All else are castles built in the air _

_ And I wonder when we are ever gonna change _

_ Living under the fear till nothing else remains _

The minister was livid, how dare they talk back to him! 

"You have no choice in the matter! None of you! Seize those students, immediately!" 

The students were getting angry, and their shouts of defiance filled the air. 

"NO! We don't want any more fighting!" 

"Yeah! We won't let you destroy what our friends died to protect!" 

"We worked hard for our peace, and we won't let you take it away!" 

As one the students drew their wands and advanced upon the officials. Unsure what to do, the whole group started backing away from the seriously pissed student body. 

Fudge's face was an unflattering shade of purple, "What are you waiting for? Get those students out of the way and arrest those Slytherins!" 

One of the Aurors snorted as he eyed the approaching mob wearily, "Oh yeah, it would go over real well with the public if they found out a group of trained Aurors, let by the minister of magic, burst into a school without a headmaster and attacked the kids. Real genius plan there boss." 

"How dare you!" 

All the children say 

_ We don't need another hero _

_ We don't need to know the way home _

_ All we want is life beyond _

_ the Thunderdome _

"It would seem as though the students have made their choice Cornelius." An amused voice said from behind them, the students snickered as the minister's face turned from purple, to orange, to a rather moldy shade of green. 

Dumbledor was back at Hogwarts. 

"Albus! I demand you get your charges under control at once!" 

The Headmaster raised one snow white eyebrow, "And just how, pray tell, do you expect me to do that? It is clear the only way they will calm down is if you leave." 

The student body growled as one, making the ministry group back up a few more steps. 

_ So what do we do with our lives _

_ We leave only a mark _

_ Will our story shine like a light _

_ Or end in the dark _

_ Give it all or nothing _

"Fine, but don't think this is the last you've heard from me on this issue, I won't rest until all those jr. death eaters are locked away." 

Harry finally decided to have his say, "You try one more time to touch the Slytherins and I will have you out of office before you can say 'quidditch'. After all minister, I am The-Boy-Who-Lived. You know, savior of the wizarding world? I have a lot of pull you know." 

Pansy Parkinson laughed at the ministers pale face, "And don't forget minister, our parents have a lot of very interesting things to say about some of your dealings, you wouldn't want some of your more intimate secrets to come to light now would you?" 

Fudge's complexion now rivaled Nearly Headless Nicks, "Right...we'll just be going." 

He turned and stormed out, his posse trailing behind them. 

_ We don't need another hero _

_ We don't need to know the way home _

_ All we want is life beyond _

_ Thunderdome _

They had won again, their peace was safe. 

* * * 

Well, so far only one person has reviewed, but this sorta popped into my head and wouldn't go away until I wrote it. Read and Review please, I really want to know if you like it and what you think I could do to improve my writing. 


	3. Author's Note

Okay, a little author's note here as a response to Jamie's review. Battle Scars was supposed to be a one shot, but then Slytherin's Defense sorta wouldn't go away, and when I finished it I realised it had made itself into a second chapter of Battle Scars. Plot bunnies are mysterious and irritating things. As for whether or not there will be more, I dunno. Both are kinda in one shot form, but if you all want me to maybe expand and write a fic on how everything came about I can certainly do that. 

What do you all want? The ball is in your court. 


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